The Philippine economy will likely expand at a lower band than previously estimated with the government’s economic team on Friday lowering gross domestic product (GDP) target band for 2022 to 6.5 to 7.5 percent from 7 to 8 percent due to a raft of challenges.
The government lowered the range due to the “recent external and domestic developments.”
“This growth will be sustained and expanded to 6.5 percent to 8 percent in 2023 to 2028,” said the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee headed by newly appointed Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno as the Philippines faces quickening inflation, government debt bloated by pandemic-era spending and a worsening global outlook.
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The increase in household consumption and private investments, along with the robust manufacturing industry, high vaccination rate, improved healthcare capacity, and the upward trend in tourism and employment, have allowed the Philippines to safely re-open the economy and register positive growth for the first three months of 2022 but Diokno said that there’s still space for state spending.
“This momentum is expected to continue for the rest of the year, with the GDP growth assumption slightly adjusted to 6.5 to 7.5 percent in consideration of recent external and domestic developments,” the committee said in a statement.
